No obstacles for TANAP project implementation – Turkish minister

There are no obstacles to implement the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP), which is a good example of the high level of the relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz was quoted Jan. 8 by Sabah newspaper as saying.

Yildiz also said that some media outlets often write that the Turkish Stream is not TANAP’s competitor.

Turkish Stream and TANAP are different projects and they do not compete,” Yildiz said.

During the talks in Turkey on December 1, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin talked about ceasing the South Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Bulgaria. A new project was immediately initiated in the same volume of 63 billion cubic meters, designed for Turkey and consumers of the EU countries capable to take the required volumes from the trading hub on the border between Turkey and the EU (Greece).

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Dec. 10 that the representatives of the Russian Federation and Turkey intend to meet in December to discuss the issue of the new pipeline construction. At present, the sides are analyzing various options of its route.

“At present, the negotiations are underway at the level of economic entities because they must clearly define the route and consider different variants of the further hub site, the gas pipeline route across the Black Sea,” the minister said. “There are different options. So, it is first necessary to analyze all technical and economic indices. Gazprom and Botas are involved in this process.”

South Stream is the transnational gas pipeline project, which was worked out to diversify the natural gas supply routes to European consumers. It envisaged natural gas supply across the Black Sea to South and Central Europe. It was planned to start constructing a gas pipeline from Russia’s Black Sea coast, the town of Anapa, Krasnodar region, then across the Black Sea by crossing Bulgaria’s coastline.

The TANAP project envisages gas transportation from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field, the Georgian-Turkish border to the western border of Turkey.

The initial capacity of TANAP is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year.Around six billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey and the rest volume to Europe.Turkey will obtain gas in 2018. The gas will be supplied to Europe in early 2020 after the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is constructed.

It is planned to commission TANAP in 2018. The project’s cost is estimated at $10-11 billion.The contracts for the supply of pipes for the construction of TANAP were signed in Turkey’s Ankara city on Oct.14 with six Turkish companies and one Chinese company.

Turkey’s Mannesmann-Noksel-Erciyas and Umran-Emek consortiums, Toscelik Profil ve Sac Endustrisi, as well as a Chinese contractor Baosteel Europe won the tender for the supply of pipes for the TANAP project.

All the companies that will participate in the construction and supply of the TANAP project in Turkey are exempt from VAT.